The recent news of a discovery of a new virus has the health institutions around the world on their toes. It has been reported that hundreds of people in Mexico and at least twenty people in the United States have shown symptoms of a new virus named the swine virus because of the similarity of its outer protein receptors to a virus that is common in pigs. The disease seems to be contagious through the air, and symptoms do not become present until the fifth day onward, although it is still transferable from day one.
The existing logic for such a sensational story is the fact that there are so many methods of contracting such a highly contagious disease in today’s fast-paced society that a real pandemic is very likely. Examples of this include the outcry of the SARS virus and the avian bird flu. These diseases can travel with airplane travelers to the most distant parts of the globe, and strike the population when least expected. A new virus that is little known about will strike even more swiftly because there is no existing contingency plan in place.
While I believe that these are very real threats, I also know that the media has a tendency to blow up affairs regarding various new diseases; emphasis is placed on the sensation factor rather than actual extent of impact on society. It’s a business, and simple medical articles and affairs need to have a doomsday appeal to them if views are to be generated. While SARS and the avian flu remain very real and infectious, comments about them have faded away; they never evolved into the earth-shattering plagues that we were led to believe. So take the latest news about the swine flu with a grain of salt: it might be a very real threat, but just don’t regard as the next Spanish Influenza of 1918.
Website Relevant to my post:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17026-swine-flu-what-you-need-to-know.html?full=true
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